The bargain between advertisers and consumers has always been as clear as it has been unspoken. We'll underwrite your media, even let you get a lot of it for free--and in return you lend us your attention span for a few minutes out of every media experience. We'll call it even.

Last week's Mobile Marketing Forum, put on by the Mobile Marketing Association, reminded me a bit of an interactive marketing conference circa 1998--but the programming here was a lot better than the old shows....

You have to give Amp'd credit; it's got balls. In a wireless industry where bland is the norm, this MVNO is diving headfirst into some new and interesting territory when it comes both to self-promotion and service design.